Water economizer system for domestic installations and the like

ABSTRACT

Based on the idea of reusing grey water generated by the washhand basin and other sanitary appliances in the bathroom, with the exception of the toilet, storing the grey water in a tank wherefrom the cistern of the toilet is supplied when it is necessary, the invention consists of situating from the grey water intake connector ( 1 ) and in a main pipe ( 5 ), a particle filter ( 9 ), a flow switch ( 11 ), a circulation pump ( 14 ), an ozone injector ( 16 ) with its corresponding water recirculation pump ( 15 ), and a check valve ( 18 ), the flow switch ( 11 ) sending information to a programmable automaton ( 12 ) which in turn controls both the aforementioned pumps ( 14  and  15 ) and the electrovalve ( 8 ) of a secondary pipe ( 6 ) wherethrough the grey water is evacuated, by means of the outlet ( 7 ) to the building downpipe, when the storage device is full. 
     It is thereby achieved that the toilet cistern receives perfectly filtered water, to avoid obstructions or loss of sealing in the closure system thereof, and that furthermore the water remains free of bacteria and other microorganisms, which are eliminated by the ozone injector ( 16 ).

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system which has been specificallydevised to achieve a substantial savings of water in domestic usesanitary systems and others such as offices and other work centres witha similar water use.

The object of the invention is to be able to reuse part of the waterconsumed, particularly for its use in the toilet, with the subsequentsavings that results therefrom.

The invention is therefore applicable in the field of buildingconstruction, especially dwellings, and more specifically in the fieldof sanitary water installations and waste water which form part of saidbuildings.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The problem of the high cost of drinking water, which is becominggreater and greater, is well known, as it stems from a plurality ofdifferent kinds of factors such as the climactic conditions, theincrease of population density, the concentration thereof in large urbancentres, etc.

One clear solution to the problem, at least a partial solution, consistsof reducing the consumption of water on a domestic level, without saiddecrease in consumption negatively affecting the hygienic activities ofthe users.

Regardless of the fact that one way of saving water is to consume less,for example by shutting off the taps as much as possible, reducing theflow, etc., one way of achieving a big savings in the consumption ofwater consists of the reuse thereof, whenever this is possible.

In this last aspect, it is known to store already used waste water fromwashhand basins, baths, showers and such like in a tank and reuse thispreviously used water in the toilets, where clean water is obviously notrequired.

Nevertheless, the known solutions based on this system feature adrawback which is fundamentally based on the following aspects:

-   -   The grey water often carries particles which are big enough to        cause problems of obstructions or lack of sealing in the        refilling and emptying mechanisms of the cisterns.    -   The water to be reused often carries bacteria and other        microorganisms which are harmful to one's health.    -   In many of them, the positive or negative imbalances between the        reusable waste water flow and that necessary to be used in the        toilet create problems of service, availability, etc.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The economizer system proposed by the invention, belonging to thisgroup, wherein the supply of the toilet cistern is provided with wastewater from other consumption sources such as those previously mentioned,resolves the previously stated drawback in a completely satisfactorymanner, in each and all of the mentioned aspects.

To do this, and more specifically, said system has two basic elements,one unit which treats and eliminates the excess waste water, and anotherwhich is a storage tank for the use of the cistern.

The aforementioned treatment unit, with all of the components thereofhoused in an open casing, incorporates a grey water intake, whichcollects all of the waste water from, for example, a bathroom, with theexception of the corresponding toilet, intake which diverges into twobranches, one an outlet directly to the building downpipe assisted by anelectrovalve, and the other a reuse pipe wherein is established afilter, a flow switch, a water circulation pump, an ozone injector, asecond water recirculation pump and a check valve, elements arranged ina line and with this specific sequence, which finishes off in thecorresponding water outlet towards the storage tank, which is asubstantially flat tank, which can be located in the false ceiling ofthe bathroom, and wherefrom the cistern is supplied.

A programmable automaton, preferably assisted by a Redox probeestablished in the tank, which controls the pumps and electrovalves toensure that the waste water, duly treated, always makes it to thestorage tank as long as there is filling capacity in the latter, andthat the excess water is eliminated through the by-pass which connectsthe grey water inlet to the building downpipe, at the same time that adigital screen permits the visual control of the entire system.

In accordance with another of the characteristics of the invention, trapgates which are operatively made in the casing permit the direct accessboth to said programmable automaton and to the inlet filter, in order toclean the latter and for the maintenance of the automaton.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to complement the description which is being carried out andwith the purpose of helping towards a better understanding of thecharacteristics of the invention, in accordance with a preferred exampleof embodiment thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral partof said description, wherein the following, in an illustrative andnon-limitative character, has been represented:

FIG. 1 shows, according to a perspective schematic representation, awater economizer system for domestic installations and the like carriedout in accordance with the object of the present invention, wherein thecasing has been represented as transparent to clearly show the interiorcomponents thereof.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of the casing, wherein theinterior components have been eliminated, showing nothing more than theorifices wherethrough the connections of the system to the differentwater intake and outlet pipes are made.

FIG. 3, finally, also shows a schematic representation of the water tankwhich is complementary to the structure represented in the previousfigures, as it appears incorporated in the ozonation system.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

As has been stated previously, the proposed system is the result of thefunctional combination between the structure shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 andthe tank from FIG. 3, which stores the water generated by the former andthe supply to the toilet when the use of the latter is necessary.

In FIG. 1, the grey water intake (1) provided to be reused is observed,materialized in a threaded connector, whereto is coupled thecorresponding collection pipe coming from the washhand basin, shower,etc., connector which is built into the wall of the casing (2) whichincludes the greater part of the mechanisms of the system, with theexception of the water collection tank (3), as represented in FIG. 3.

A by-pass (4) determining a main pipe (5) and a secondary pip (6) isestablished inside the casing (2) and behind the connector (1), so thatthe filtering and drainage of the waste water which is going to bereused in the cistern is carried out through the pipe (5), while thesurplus water is evacuated through the secondary pipe (6), whichconnects to the building downpipe through another connector (7), thissecondary pipe (6) having an electrovalve (8) which is normally keptshut and which will open when the tank (3) is completely full.

In the first place, a filter (9) is established in the main pipe (5)which collects all of the particles which the grey water might becarrying, immediately establishing a shut-off valve (10), manuallyactuated, which permits one to cut off the path of the water throughsaid main pipe (5), when it is necessary to remove the filter (9) to becleaned.

Immediately following, a flow switch (11) (flux stat) is situated,responsible for supplying information to a programmable automaton (12)about the presence of water in the main pipe (5), with the purpose ofsaid automaton (12), assisted by a digital screen (13), generating theappropriate control orders about a circulation pump (14) and arecirculation pump (15), the former situated between the flow switch(11) and an ozone injector (16), and the latter built into the ozonegenerator (11) itself, which actuates on a Venturi (17) established inthe main pipe (5), also as observed in FIG. 3, a check valve (18) beingsituated immediately following and the main pipe (5) finishing off inanother connector (19) established in the wall opposite the casing (1)and whereto will be connected the pipe which links this part of thedevice to the tank (3).

The programmable automaton (12) will be connected by means of the supply(20) to the general power supply network of the dwelling, the same asthe ozone generator (16).

In order to simplify the installation of the system, in addition to theaforementioned connectors, a recycled and treated water intake connector(21) coming from the tank, and the corresponding water outlet connector(22) towards the cistern, are situated inside the wall of the casing(1), the first of them assisted by a ceramic filter (23).

As has previously been mentioned, the casing (2) is open, configuring atype of box provided with an upper lid (24), hinged, also having a pairof registers (25 and 26), the former facing the programmable automaton(12) and the ceramic filter (23), and the latter facing the inlet filter(9).

1. Water economizer system for domestic installations for the reuse ofgrey water generated by appliances with the exception of the toilet, forthe supply of the cistern and which have a waste water collection tankwherefrom the cistern is supplied comprising: an intake connector isestablished therein, where the pipes of the reusable water converge,connector linked to a main pipe wherein is established, in a row and inthis order, a particle filter, a flow switch, a circulation pump, anozone injector assisted by a recirculation pump, and a check valve,after which is established a second connector wherethrough the mechanismis connected to the water tank, having been provided for theparticipation in the system of a programmable automaton, assisted by adigital screen, which controls the system based on the informationreceived from the flow switch.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein asecondary pipe is established parallel to the main pipe by means of aby-pass established immediately after the grey water intake connector,this secondary pipe being provided with an electrovalve and connectedthrough another connector to the building downpipe, so that saidelectrovalve opens when commanded by the programmable automaton, whenthe water tank is full.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the ozoneinjector is connected to the main pipe through a Venturi.
 4. The systemof claim 1, wherein the different components thereof, with the exceptionof the water tank, are housed inside an open casing through a lid, onwhose walls are situated and fastened the different connectors for thegrey water intake pipe, the direct outlet of said grey water and thetreated water outlet towards the tank, this latter assisted by a ceramicfilter.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the two registers areestablished in the aforementioned casing, one register facing theprogrammable automaton and the ceramic filter, and another register inturn facing the particle filter, whereto is immediately established amanual actuation valve to interrupt the flow circulation through themain pipe during the cleaning manoeuvres of the filters.